Chapter 136: That’s Just Wonderful
Chapter 136: Chapter 136: That’s Just Wonderful
The moment Justin Donovan got out of the car, he saw his beloved sister whispering in some guy’s ear. His face instantly darkened. He coughed loudly a few times and shouted, "Serena, get back here!"
Not suspecting a thing, Arabella Donovan quickly left Caspian Rhodes and ran back. "Brother, what’s wrong? Do you have a cold?"
When Justin Donovan saw his sister unhesitatingly leave the other man and return to his side, his expression finally softened. "I’m fine. My throat just suddenly felt a bit dry. A little water will do the trick."
Caspian Rhodes was long accustomed to the Donovan brothers’ inexplicable hostility toward him. He maintained an impeccable smile and said gently, "The hot springs here are volcanic. There’s a crater not far away, so the climate is a bit drier compared to Stroven City. It’s normal for you to not be used to it since you just arrived."
"Oh, so that’s why. No wonder they’re called magma hot springs."
"Yes, now that you mention it, I’m getting curious too. I really want to see for myself what makes the volcanic hot springs in this little mountain village different from ordinary ones."
In reality, Dennis Donovan’s words were a subtle reminder for Arabella Donovan and the others to hurry up and get down to business.
Caspian Rhodes looked toward the voice and saw an elderly man with white hair, but his gaze was remarkably sharp and piercing. He figured this must be the important relative Arabella Donovan had mentioned—the source of the big scoop.
He gave the man a polite nod before turning to Arabella Donovan. "The village with the hot springs is still some distance from here. If we head over now, we should be able to make it in time for dinner."
"Then let’s get going. I hear it’s pretty remote out there. If we’re late, we might not even get a meal."
"Alright, I’ll lead the way. Just follow my car."
"Then I’ll ride in your car, Mr. Rhodes."
"Absolutely not!" Arabella had barely finished speaking when Justin Donovan shot the idea down, even before Dennis Donovan could get a word in. "You, alone in a car with him? What would people think?"
Arabella Donovan froze, turning to look at her brother with a peculiar expression.
’What my brother said sounds so... off. When you take a taxi, it’s also two people in a car. How is this suddenly an issue of a man and a woman being alone together?’
The expression on Justin Donovan’s face stiffened slightly, and Caspian Rhodes almost burst out laughing.
Even Dennis Donovan, standing not far away, had a thoughtful look on his face. He looked Caspian Rhodes up and down and vaguely understood why Justin Donovan was so tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.
"AHEM. What I meant was, Grand-uncle is right here. What kind of message does it send if you just hop into someone else’s car? Isn’t that disrespectful?"
Realization dawned on Arabella Donovan, and she looked troubled.
’My brother has a point. I was hoping that since Mr. Rhodes seems so familiar with this area, I could talk to him on the way and pinpoint Miss Preston’s location sooner. It looks like I won’t get the chance now.’
’Miss Preston?’ Caspian Rhodes narrowed his eyes. ’So, they’re here looking for someone. But who is this Miss Preston? Why have they traveled all this way to find her here?’
A glint in his eyes, Dennis Donovan suddenly interjected, "It’s fine, it’s fine. Since Serena wants to ride in Mr. Rhodes’s car, we can all just move over. Mr. Rhodes wouldn’t mind, would he?"
"Of course not. That’s what cars are for."
"Then it’s settled."
Dennis Donovan’s word was final. As unhappy as Justin Donovan was, he didn’t dare object again and could only reluctantly follow the old man into the back seat.
In addition to him, Dennis Donovan’s head bodyguard also got into Caspian Rhodes’s car. Arabella Donovan, wanting to talk to Caspian more easily, hopped into the front passenger seat.
The car had barely started moving when Arabella Donovan immediately began probing for information. "From the sound of it, Mr. Rhodes, you seem to know this area quite well?"
"Well enough. My maternal grandparents are from a town about a dozen kilometers from the village we’re heading to. When I was young, I came back with them to pay respects to our ancestors and stayed for a while."
"Is that so?" Arabella Donovan’s face lit up. "Then are you familiar with that village, Mr. Rhodes? Are the people there easy to get along with?"
"I wouldn’t say I’m familiar with it. This place is quite remote, and most villages around here have one thing in common: any young person who can leave to find work has already done so. The only ones left behind are the old and the infirm."
"That village is more or less the same, maybe even worse. The entire village is nestled in the mountains with only one road in and out. Access is extremely difficult, so the economy naturally isn’t great. Almost all the young people have left, leaving behind only some empty-nesters and left-behind children."
Arabella Donovan furrowed her brow. "But don’t they have hot springs? If they developed it into a tourist attraction, wouldn’t that boost the local economy?"
"It comes back to the same problem: access is terrible. To build a tourist destination, you need more than just a unique attraction. Access is the number one factor. The road into the village is too narrow; it can barely fit one car. Two cars heading in opposite directions can’t pass each other. With even a slight increase in traffic, the whole place would be gridlocked. Who would want to visit a second time?"
"What if they widened the road?"
"The road is carved into the mountainside. To widen it, you’d have to blast the mountain. The cost would be so high, it would take forever to make it back. Investors aren’t suckers."
Arabella Donovan’s eyes shifted. "So, there are basically no young adults in the mountains?"
"There are, but very few."
"With the economy being so underdeveloped here, I imagine the living conditions aren’t great either, right?"
"That’s one way to put it. Most of the young people who leave for work and make money end up moving their parents and children out to join them instead of coming back. So, the only ones left are the elderly who can’t bear to leave their ancestral homes and children from poorer families."
’That’s... perfect.’
Everyone else in the car: "???"
’The person guarding Miss Preston is a young man. If it’s really like Mr. Rhodes says, he’s bound to stand out like a sore thumb in the village. We should be able to find him just by asking a few questions.’
Dennis Donovan’s gaze darkened as he began mentally planning how they would find their target once they arrived.
’Also, the place where Miss Preston is being held is a somewhat dilapidated two-story house. But according to Mr. Rhodes, the economy here is terrible. Anyone who can afford a two-story house would probably be considered one of the village’s wealthiest families. That narrows down the search considerably.’
Hearing Arabella Donovan’s analysis, Dennis Donovan and the others grew excited. They hadn’t even entered the village yet, but they were already eager to begin the rescue.
Just as Caspian Rhodes had predicted, it was dusk by the time they drove into the village.
When a group of strangers with an imposing air suddenly arrived in a village where everyone knew each other, all the villagers grew tense, watching the newcomers with wary eyes.
Fortunately, Arabella Donovan and the others had already prepared a cover story. Tipped off by his people, the village chief was urgently summoned. But when he learned that, to his surprise, these visitors had come all this way because they’d heard great things about the village’s newly developed magma hot springs, his caution instantly melted into warm hospitality.